Topic:
Witch Hill War Memorial

Topic type:

Situated on Witch Hill / Te Upoko o Kurī, at the top of Rapaki Track, on the Port Hills, Christchurch, the memorial was a seat made of unfaced basalt which had been quarried nearby. The memorial included two bronze plaques commemorating the lives of St Martins and Rapaki soldiers who had died in the First World War, while a third plaque featured the poem The Dead by Rupert Brooke (part III of his collection 1914).

The memorial seat had been erected by Mr and Mrs A. Anderson in memory of their son, Frederick, who had died during the battle of Messines.The plans to build the memorial were approved by the Summit Road Scenic Reserves Board in October 1917, just four months after Frederick Anderson died.

One plaque faced towards St. Martins, and was inscribed with the names of the Opawa and St. Martins soldiers